Law & Order revival tumbles in week 2; SVU ratings stay solid
From the get-go, we had some questions about the long-term success of the mothership. Its focus is a little more broad than either SVU or Organized Crime, and it’s also not being pushed based on any one character. Organized Crime was successful from the get-go in part because of Elliot Stabler’s return — it debuted to big numbers because of that.
Unfortunately, Law & Order itself is not busting down any doors in week 2. The show drew a 0.4 rating in the 18-49 demographic and close to 4.3 million viewers. While this is a decent increase in viewers from The Blacklist (which previously held down the spot), it is a good bit below the 0.6 rating that SVU received. The Mariska Hargitay series also was around 4.5 million viewers. Showrunner Warren Leight also noted that in the demo, SVU also performed better in the second half-hour than the first, a sign that it is retaining viewers and then some. (For those wondering, last night’s Organized Crime drew a 0.5 rating and just over 3 million viewers.)
So what’s the big takeaway from all of this information? We know already that SVU is going to have a season 24, and we feel reasonably hopeful for the future of Organized Crime. Even with lower viewer totals it is airing in a timeslot with less in the way of expectations. Also, it’s been outstanding for the better part of the series.
We’d say that (ironically) the jury is still out on the flagship Law & Order. It lost a good chunk of viewers after its return and if it continues to slide, we could see it go away altogether. Remember that originally, the plan was for NBC to order Law & Order: For the Defense instead. It just never quite materialized as a series.
Are you watching Law & Order, SVU, or Organized Crime?
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This article was written by Jessica BunBun.